A Special Exhibition and Conversation in Partnership with the White House Historical Association, Highlighting the President James Monroe Collection
Featuring:
Former White House Curator,
William Allman
Architectural Photographer,
Bruce White
Tuesday, July 21st, 2026, 6:00 pm
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
$30 Members - $40 Non-Members
The Arts Club of Washington invites you to a very special evening in the month of the nation's 250th anniversary, and the 110th year since the organization's founding, highlighting a unique White House collection and the legacy of President James Monroe. We are honored to host this event in partnership with the White House Historical Association.
After relocating from their residence at 2017 I Street NW (the current location of The Arts Club of Washington) to the newly rebuilt White House, President and First Lady Monroe created a residence that reflected splendor, social form and gentility. During his time in office, President Monroe acquired furniture and artifacts as part of the refurnishing of the White House after the fire of 1814. For example, he imported a suite of gilded beechwood furniture by the noted Parisian cabinetmaker, Pierre-Antoine Bellangé (1760-1844) as well as table plateaus, vases, clocks, gold centerpieces, and candelabrum to create a splendid setting for social events. Many of these pieces are in the White House Collection today.
The Arts Club of Washington, as the most historic nonprofit arts organization in the nation’s capital, and a National Historic Landmark in no small part due to its connection to the fifth president, is thrilled to host a special exhibition and corresponding talk with two distinguished individuals deeply connected to the President Monroe collection.
Images from the collection have been generously provided by the White House Historical Association, and will be hung in The Arts Club’s Monroe Parlor, the very room where the last Founding Father to be president hosted his post-inauguration reception.
The Speakers:
Bruce M. White is a fine art and architectural photographer. Formerly a staff photographer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he now works on commission for museums, artists, art collectors, universities, and publishers in the United States and abroad. His photography is used to illustrate publications and exhibition catalogs. White is principal photographer for numerous award-winning books including The White House: An Historic Guide and At Home in the President’s Neighborhood: A Photographic Tour.
William G. Allman is the former curator of the White House, having retired from the office in 2017 after forty years. He co-authored Something of Splendor: Decorative Arts from the White House (2012) and authored the updated and expanded third edition of Official White House China: From the 18th to the 21st Centuries (2016).
- Time:
6:00 p.m. Doors Open
6:30 p.m. Talk Begins
- Location: Monroe Parlor, The Arts Club of Washington
- Following the Program: A Special Q&A and Reception with Mr. Allman and Mr. White
- Hors d'Oeuvres and Open Bar
